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Cotton Avenue was named to Historic Macon’s latest “Fading Five” list, an initiative that aims to preserve historic structures. The Macon-Bibb County Commission is seeking to have the Planning and Zoning Commission form the Cotton Avenue Historic District, with boundaries from “that area that was historically known as Cotton Avenue, running from College Street and terminating at Second and Mulberry streets,” according to a resolution recently approved by county commissioners.
“After losing Tremont Temple Baptist Church and the Douglass House and seeing the development pressure, we knew (the area’s buildings) were in danger,” said Ethiel Garlington, executive director of Historic Macon. “(Cotton Avenue) is really fascinating. I don’t think there is another street in Macon that can share and tell so many stories about Macon’s history.”
The history of the street is unknown to many, including some African-Americans who are unaware of its importance, community activist George Fadil Muhammad said.
“Macon is challenged to wake up and take back its history,” Muhammad said. “The people have to step up, and leaders who make decisions have to see the value.”
During slavery, Cotton Avenue was the street that led down to Mulberry Street and the Ocmulgee River, an area where slave and cotton trading was common. Afterward, those former slaves were among those who turned the area into a beacon of black prosperity.
Outside The Medical Center, Navicent Health is a small plaque that recognizes Lewis High School and Ballard and Normal schools for their contributions in educating blacks following the end of slavery. Lewis was destroyed by arson but reopened in the 1880s and became known as Lewis Normal Institute, according to the Amistad Research Center, a black history nonprofit organization on the campus of Tulane University.
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